The traditional occupation of Brahmins was that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies and rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.[2][3] In practice, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were agriculturalists, warriors, traders and have held a variety of other occupations in India.[3][4][5]

Vedic sources

Purusha Sukta

The earliest inferred reference to "Brahmin" as a possible social class is in the Rigveda, occurs once, and the hymn is called Purusha Sukta.[6] According to this hymn in Mandala 10, Brahmins are described as having emerged from the mouth of Purusha, being that part of the body from which words emerge.[7][8][note 1] This Purusha Sukta varna verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Vedic text, possibly as a charter myth.[9] Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality".[9]

Shrauta Sutras

Ancient texts describing community-oriented Vedic yajna rituals mention four to five priests: the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar, the Brahmin and sometimes the ritvij.[10][11] The functions associated with the priests were:

The Hotri recites invocations and litanies drawn from the Rigveda.[12]

The Adhvaryu is the priest's assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground, building the altar explained in the Yajurveda. The adhvaryu offers oblations.[12]

The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music (sāman) drawn from the Samaveda. The udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns.[12]

According to Kulkarni, the Grhya-sutras state that Yajna, Adhyayana (studying the vedas and teaching), dana pratigraha (accepting and giving gifts) are the "peculiar duties and privileges of brahmins".[13]

Brahmin and renunciation tradition in Hinduism

The term Brahmin in Indian texts has signified someone who is good and virtuous, not just someone of priestly class.[14] Both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, states Patrick Olivelle, repeatedly define "Brahmin" not in terms of family of birth, but in terms of personal qualities.[14] These virtues and characteristics mirror the values cherished in Hinduism during the Sannyasa stage of life, or the life of renunciation for spiritual pursuits. Brahmins, states Olivelle, were the social class from which most ascetics came.[14]

Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras

The Dharmasutras and Dharmasatras text of Hinduism describe the expectations, duties and role of Brahmins. The rules and duties in these Dharma texts of Hinduism, are primarily directed at Brahmins. The Gautama's Dharmasutra, the oldest of surviving Hindu Dharmasutras, for example, states in verse 9.54–9.55 that a Brahmin should not participate or perform a ritual unless he is invited to do so, but he may attend. Gautama outlines the following rules of conduct for a Brahmin, in Chapters 8 and 9:[15]

Virtues more important than rituals
A [Brahmin] man who has performed the forty sacramental rites, but lacks eight virtues does not obtain union with or residence in the same world as Brahman. A man who may have performed just some rites, but possesses these eight virtues, on the other hand, does.

Chapter 8 of the Dharmasutra, states Olivelle, asserts the functions of a Brahmin to be to learn the Vedas, the secular sciences, the Vedic supplements, the dialogues, the epics and the Puranas; to understand the texts and pattern his conduct according to precepts contained in this texts, to undertake Sanskara (rite of passage) and rituals, and lead a virtuous life.[17]

The text lists eight virtues that a Brahmin must inculcate: compassion, patience, lack of envy, purification, tranquility, auspicious disposition, generosity and lack of greed, and then asserts in verse 9.24–9.25, that it is more important to lead a virtuous life than perform rites and rituals, because virtue leads to achieving liberation (moksha, a life in the world of Brahman).[17]

The later Dharma texts of Hinduism such as Baudhayana Dharmasutra add charity, modesty, refraining from anger and never being arrogant as duties of a Brahmin.[18] The Vasistha Dharmasutra in verse 6.23 lists discipline, austerity, self-control, liberality, truthfulness, purity, Vedic learning, compassion, erudition, intelligence and religious faith as characteristics of a Brahmin.[19] In 13.55, the Vasistha text states that a Brahmin must not accept weapons, poison or liquor as gifts.[20]

The Dharmasastras such as Manusmriti, like Dharmsutras, are codes primarily focussed on how a Brahmin must live his life, and their relationship with a king and warrior class.[21] Manusmriti dedicates 1,034 verses, the largest portion, on laws for and expected virtues of Brahmins.[22] It asserts, for example,

A well disciplined Brahmin, although he knows just the Savitri verse, is far better than an undisciplined one who eats all types of food and deals in all types of merchandise though he may know all three Vedas.

John Bussanich states that the ethical precepts set for Brahmins, in ancient Indian texts, are similar to Greek virtue-ethics, that "Manu's dharmic Brahmin can be compared to Aristotle's man of practical wisdom",[24] and that "the virtuous Brahmin is not unlike the Platonic-Aristotelian philosopher" with the difference that the latter was not sacerdotal.[25]

History

According to Abraham Eraly, "Brahmin as a varna hardly had any presence in historical records before the Gupta Empire era" (3rd century to 6th century CE), and "no Brahmin, no sacrifice, no ritualistic act of any kind ever, even once, is referred to in any Indian text" dated to be from the first century CE or before.[26] Their role as priests and repository of sacred knowledge, as well as their importance in the practice of Vedic Shrauta rituals grew during the Gupta Empire era and thereafter.[26] However, the knowledge about actual history of Brahmins or other varnas of Hinduism in and after 1st-millennium is fragmentary and preliminary, with little that is from verifiable records or archeological evidence, and much that is constructed from a-historical Sanskrit works and fiction. Michael Witzel writes,

Toward a history of the Brahmins: Current research in the area is fragmentary. The state of our knowledge of this fundamental subject is preliminary, at best. Most Sanksrit works are a-historic or, at least, not especially interested in presenting a chronological account of India's history. When we actually encounter history, such as in Rajatarangini or in the Gopalavamsavali of Nepal, the texts do not deal with brahmins in great detail.

Normative occupations

The Gautama Dharmasutra states in verse 10.3 that it is obligatory on a Brahmin to learn and teach the Vedas.[28] Chapter 10 of the text, according to Olivelle translation, states that he may impart Vedic instructions to a teacher, relative, friend, elder, anyone who offers exchange of knowledge he wants, or anyone who pays for such education.[28] The Chapter 10 adds that a Brahmin may also engage in agriculture, trade, lend money on interest, while Chapter 7 states that a Brahmin may engage in the occupation of a warrior in the times of adversity.[28][29] Typically, asserts Gautama Dharmasutra, a Brahmin should accept any occupation to sustain himself but avoid the occupations of a Shudra, but if his life is at stake a Brahmin may sustain himself by accepting occupations of a Shudra.[29] The text forbids a Brahmin from engaging in the trade of animals for slaughter, meat, medicines and milk products even in the times of adversity.[29]

The Apastamba Dharmasutra asserts in verse 1.20.10 that trade is generally not sanctioned for Brahmins, but in the times of adversity he may do so.[30] The chapter 1.20 of Apastamba, states Olivelle, forbids the trade of the following under any circumstances: human beings, meat, skins, weapons, barren cows, sesame seeds, pepper, and merits.[30]

The 1st millennium CE Dharmasastras, that followed the Dharmasutras contain similar recommendations on occupations for a Brahmin, both in prosperous or normal times, and in the times of adversity.[31] The widely studied Manusmriti, for example, states:

Except during a time of adversity, a Brahmin ought to sustain himself by following a livelihood that causes little or no harm to creatures. He should gather wealth just sufficient for his subsistence through irreproachable activities that are specific to him, without fatiguing his body. – 4.2–4.3

He must never follow a worldly occupation for the sake of livelihood, but subsist by means of a pure, upright and honest livelihood proper to a Brahmin. One who seeks happiness should become supremely content and self controlled, for happiness is rooted in contentment and its opposite is the root of unhappiness. – 4.11–4.12

The Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmin's occupation must never involve forbidden activities such as producing or trading poison, weapons, meat, trapping birds and others.[33] It also lists six occupations that it deems proper for a Brahmin: teaching, studying, offering yajna, officiating at yajna, giving gifts and accepting gifts.[33] Of these, states Manusmriti, three which provide a Brahmin with a livelihood are teaching, officiating at yajna, and accepting gifts.[34] The text states that teaching is best, and ranks the accepting of gifts as the lowest of the six.[33] In the times of adversity, Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmin may live by engaging in the occupations of the warrior class, or agriculture or cattle herding or trade.[34] Of these, Manusmriti in verses 10.83–10.84 recommends a Brahmin should avoid agriculture if possible because, according to Olivelle translation, agriculture "involves injury to living beings and dependence of others" when the plow digs the ground and injures the creatures that live in the soil.[34][35] However, adds Manusmriti, even in the times of adversity, a Brahmin must never trade or produce poison, weapons, meat, soma, liquor, perfume, milk and milk products, molasses, captured animals or birds, beeswax, sesame seeds or roots.[34]

Actual occupations

Historical records, state scholars, suggest that Brahmin varna was not limited to a particular status or priest and teaching profession.[3][4][39] Historical records from mid 1st millennium CE and later, suggest Brahmins were agriculturalists and warriors in medieval India, quite often instead of as exception.[3][4] Donkin and other scholars state that Hoysala Empire records frequently mention Brahmin merchants "carried on trade in horses, elephants and pearls" and transported goods throughout medieval India before the 14th-century.[40][41]

The Pali Canon depicts Brahmins as the most prestigious and elite non-Buddhist figures.[39] They mention them parading their learning. The Pali Canon and other Buddhist texts such as the Jataka Tales also record the livelihood of Brahmins to have included being farmers, handicraft workers and artisans such as carpentry and architecture.[39][42] Buddhist sources extensively attest, state Greg Bailey and Ian Mabbett, that Brahmins were "supporting themselves not by religious practice, but employment in all manner of secular occupations", in the classical period of India.[39] Some of the Brahmin occupations mentioned in the Buddhist texts such as Jatakas and Sutta Nipata are very lowly.[39] The Dharmasutras too mention Brahmin farmers.[39][43]

According to Haidar and Sardar, in the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan region, and unlike the Mughal Empire, Telugu Niyogi Brahmins served the Muslim sultans in many different roles such as accountants, ministers, revenue administration and in judicial service.[44] The Deccan sultanates also heavily recruited Marathi Brahmins at different levels of their administration[45] During the days of Maratha Empire in the 17th and 18th century, the occupation of Marathi Brahmins ranged from administration, being warriors to being de facto rulers[46][47] After the collapse of Maratha empire, Brahmins in Maharashtra region were quick to take advantage of opportunities opened up by the new British rulers.They were the first community to take up Western education and therefore dominated lower level of British administration in the 19th century[48]

Eric Bellman states that during the Islamic Mughal Empire era Brahmins served as advisers to the Mughals, later to the British Raj.[49] The East India Company recruited from the Brahmin communities of the present day Uttar pradesh and Bihar regions for the Bengal army[50] Many Brahmins, in other parts of South Asia lived like other varna, engaged in all sorts of professions. Among Nepalese Hindus, for example, Niels Gutschow and Axel Michaels report the actual observed professions of Brahmins from 18th- to early 20th-century included being temple priests, minister, merchants, farmers, potters, masons, carpenters, coppersmiths, stone workers, barbers, gardeners among others.[51]

Other 20th-century surveys, such as in the state of Uttar Pradesh, recorded that the primary occupation of almost all Brahmin families surveyed was neither priestly nor Vedas-related, but like other varnas, ranged from crop farming (80 per cent of Brahmins), dairy, service, labour such as cooking, and other occupations.[52][53] The survey reported that the Brahmin families involved in agriculture as their primary occupation in modern times plough the land themselves, many supplementing their income by selling their labor services to other farmers.[52][54]

Brahmins, bhakti movement and social reform movements

Many of the prominent thinkers and earliest champions of the Bhakti movement were Brahmins, a movement that encouraged a direct relationship of an individual with a personal god.[55][56] Among the many Brahmins who nurtured the Bhakti movement were Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Madhvacharya of Vaishnavism,[56]Ramananda, another devotional poet sant.[57][58] Born in a Brahmin family,[57][59] Ramananda welcomed everyone to spiritual pursuits without discriminating anyone by gender, class, caste or religion (such as Muslims).[59][60][61] He composed his spiritual message in poems, using widely spoken vernacular language rather than Sanskrit, to make it widely accessible. His ideas also influenced the founders of Sikhism in 15th century, and his verses and he are mentioned in the Sikh scripture Adi Granth.[62] The Hindu tradition recognises him as the founder of the Hindu Ramanandi Sampradaya,[63] the largest monastic renunciant community in Asia in modern times.[64][65]

Modern demographics and economic condition

According to 2007 reports, Brahmins in India are about five percent of its total population.[49][71] The Himalayan states of Uttarakhand (20%) and Himachal Pradesh (14%) have the highest percentage of Brahmin population relative to respective state's total Hindus.[71] Also, the participation of Brahmins in present government is very high.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, an estimated 65 percent of the Brahmin households in India, with about 40 million people, lived on less than $100 a month in 2004; this number dropped to about 50% in 2007.[49] Brahmins have also included wealthier and politically successful members.[72]

In Buddhist and Jaina texts

The term Brahmin appears extensively in ancient and medieval Sutras and commentary texts of Buddhism and Jainism. In Buddhist Pali Canon, such as the Majjhima Nikaya and Devadaha Sutta, first written down about 1st century BCE,[73] the Buddha is attributed to be mentioning Jain Brahmins and ascetics, as he describes their karma doctrine and ascetic practices:[74]

The Blessed One [Buddha] said,
"There are, o monks, some ascetics and Brahmins who speak thus and are of such opinion: 'Whatever a particular person experiences, whether pleasant or painful, or neither pleasant nor painful, all this has (...) Thus say, o monks, those free of bonds [Jainas].
"O Niganthas, you ...

Modern scholars state that such usage of the term Brahmin in ancient texts does not imply a caste, but simply "masters" (experts), guardian, recluse, preacher or guide of any tradition.[76][77][78] An alternate synonym for Brahmin in the Buddhist and other non-Hindu tradition is Mahano.[76]

Outside India: Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia

Among the Hindus of Bali, Indonesia, Brahmins are called Pedandas.[79] The role of Brahmin priests, called Sulinggih,[80] has been open to both genders since medieval times. A Hindu Brahmin priestess is shown above.

Some Brahmins formed an influential group in Burmese Buddhist kingdoms in 18th- and 19th-century. The court Brahmins were locally called Punna.[81] During the Konbaung dynasty, Buddhist kings relied on their court Brahmins to consecrate them to kingship in elaborate ceremonies, and to help resolve political questions.[81] This role of Hindu Brahmins in a Buddhist kingdom, states Leider, may have been because Hindu texts provide guidelines for such social rituals and political ceremonies, while Buddhist texts don't.[81]

The Brahmins were also consulted in the transmission, development and maintenance of law and justice system outside India.[81] Hindu Dharmasastras, particularly Manusmriti written by the Brahmin Manu, states Anthony Reid,[82] were "greatly honored in Burma (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), Cambodia and Java-Bali (Indonesia) as the defining documents of law and order, which kings were obliged to uphold. They were copied, translated and incorporated into local law code, with strict adherence to the original text in Burma and Siam, and a stronger tendency to adapt to local needs in Java (Indonesia)".[82][83][84]

The mythical origins of Cambodia are credited to a Brahmin prince named Kaundinya, who arrived by sea, married a Naga princess living in the flooded lands.[85][86] Kaudinya founded Kambuja-desa, or Kambuja (transliterated to Kampuchea or Cambodia). Kaundinya introduced Hinduism, particularly Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Harihara (half Vishnu, half Shiva), and these ideas grew in southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE.[85]

Brahmins have been part of the Royal tradition of Thailand, particularly for the consecration and to mark annual land fertility rituals of Buddhist kings. A small Brahmanical temple Devasathan, established in 1784 by King Rama I of Thailand, has been managed by ethnically Thai Brahmins ever since.[87] The temple hosts Phra Phikhanesuan (Ganesha), Phra Narai (Narayana, Vishnu), Phra Itsuan (Shiva), Uma, Brahma, Indra (Sakka) and other Hindu deities.[87] The tradition asserts that the Thai Brahmins have roots in Hindu holy city of Varanasi and southern state of Tamil Nadu, go by the title Pandita, and the various annual rites and state ceremonies they conduct has been a blend of Buddhist and Hindu rituals. The coronation ceremony of the Thai king is almost entirely conducted by the royal Brahmins.[87][88]

See also

Notes

यत् पुरुषं व्यदधुः कतिधा व्यकल्पयन् ।
मुखं किम् अस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते ॥११॥
ब्राह्मणो ऽस्य मुखम् आसीद् बाहू राजन्यः कृतः ।
ऊरू तद् अस्य यद् वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ॥१२॥
11 When they divided Puruṣa how many portions did they make?
What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?
12 The Brahmin was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made.
His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced.

^Johannes de Kruijf and Ajaya Sahoo (2014), Indian Transnationalism Online: New Perspectives on Diaspora, ISBN978-1-4724-1913-2, page 105, Quote: "In other words, according to Adi Shankara's argument, the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta stood over and above all other forms of Hinduism and encapsulated them. This then united Hinduism; (...) Another of Adi Shankara's important undertakings which contributed to the unification of Hinduism was his founding of a number of monastic centers."

^Shankara, Student's Encyclopædia Britannica - India (2000), Volume 4, Encyclopædia Britannica (UK) Publishing, ISBN978-0-85229-760-5, page 379, Quote: "Shankaracharya, philosopher and theologian, most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy, from whose doctrines the main currents of modern Indian thought are derived."
David Crystal (2004), The Penguin Encyclopedia, Penguin Books, page 1353, Quote: "[Shankara] is the most famous exponent of Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy and the source of the main currents of modern Hindu thought."

^Christophe Jaffrelot (1998), The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India, Columbia University Press, ISBN978-0-231-10335-0, page 2, Quote: "The main current of Hinduism - if not the only one - which became formalized in a way that approximates to an ecclesiastical structure was that of Shankara".

^ abcdefGreg Bailey and Ian Mabbett (2006), The Sociology of Early Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-02521-8, pages 113–115 with footnotes

1.
Brahman
–
In Hinduism, Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient and it is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe. Brahman is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and it is conceptualized in Hinduism, states Paul Deussen, Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas, and it is extensively discussed in the early Upanishads. The Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle, in the Upanishads, it has been variously described as Sat-cit-ānanda and as the unchanging, permanent, highest reality. Brahman is discussed in Hindu texts with the concept of Atman, personal, impersonal or Para Brahman, or in various combinations of these qualities depending on the philosophical school. In dualistic schools of Hinduism such as the theistic Dvaita Vedanta, Brahman is different from Atman in each being, Brahman is thus a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the deity. Brahman is referred to as the supreme self, puligandla states it as the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world, while Sinar states Brahman is a concept that cannot be exactly defined. In Vedic Sanskrit, Brahma, brahman from root bṛh-, means to be or make firm, strong, solid, expand, promote. Brahmana, from stems brha + Sanskrit -man- from Indo-European root -men- which denotes some manifested form of power, inherent firmness. In later Sanskrit usage, Brahma, brahman means the concept of the transcendent and immanent ultimate reality, the concept is central to Hindu philosophy, especially Vedanta, this is discussed below. Brahm is another variant of Brahman, Brahmā, Brahman, means the deity or deva Prajāpati Brahmā. He is one of the members of the Hindu trinity and associated with creation, but does not have a cult in present-day India. This is because Brahmā, the creator-god, is long-lived but not eternal i. e. Brahmā gets absorbed back into Purusha at the end of an aeon, and is born again at the beginning of a new kalpa. These are distinct from, A brāhmaṇa, is a commentary on the Vedic mantras—an integral part of the Vedic literature. A brāhmaṇa, means priest, in this usage the word is rendered in English as Brahmin. This usage is found in the Atharva Veda. Ishvara, in Advaita, is identified as a partial manifestation of the ultimate reality

2.
Hinduism
–
Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents

3.
Hindu
–
Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion

4.
History of Hinduism
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History of Hinduism denotes a wide variety of related Hindu denominations native to the Indian Subcontinent, most of whom live in modern-day Nepal and India. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of Indian religions since Iron Age India and it has thus been called the oldest living religion in the world. Scholars regard Hinduism as a synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots, the history of Hinduism is often divided into periods of development, with the first period being that of the historical Vedic religion dated from about 1900 BCE to 1400 BCE. The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is a point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions, and a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from c.200 BCE to 500 CE, saw the classical Golden Age of Hinduism (, in this period the six branches of Hindu philosophy evolved, namely Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedanta. Monotheistic sects like Shaivism and Vaishnavism developed during this period through the Bhakti movement. Hinduism under both Hindu and Islamic rulers from c.1200 to 1750 CE, saw the prominence of the Bhakti movement. The colonial period saw the emergence of various Hindu reform movements partly inspired by movements, such as Unitarianism. The Partition of India in 1947 was along religious lines, with the Republic of India emerging with a Hindu majority. During the 20th century, due to the Indian diaspora, Hindu minorities have formed in all continents, with the largest communities in absolute numbers in the United States, Western scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions. After the Vedic period, between 500-200 BCE and c.300 CE, at the beginning of the Epic and Puranic c. q. Preclassical period, the Hindu synthesis emerged, which incorporated śramaṇic and Buddhist influences and this synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism. During the Gupta reign the first Puranas were written, which were used to disseminate mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate, the resulting Puranic Hinduism differed markedly from the earlier Brahmanism of the Dharmaśāstras and the smritis. Hinduism co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism, to gain the upper hand at all levels in the 8th century. From northern India this Hindu synthesis, and its divisions, spread to southern India. This process of assimilation explains the diversity of local cultures in India half shrouded in a taddered cloak of conceptual unity. James Mill, in his The History of British India, distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu, Muslim and British civilisations and this periodisation has been criticised, for the misconceptions it has given rise to. Another periodisation is the division into ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods, the division in Ancient-Medieval-Modern overlooks the fact that the Muslim-conquests took place between the eight and the fourteenth century, while the south was never completely conquered

5.
Hindu cosmology
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In Hindu cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. Deeply rooted in the texts of Hindu literature, including the Vedas, in roughly 432,000 years, it is believed that the Avatar Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu, will bring the end time. Hindu cosmology also describes aspects of evolution, astronomy, and astrology, the Hindu timeline is considered by some to be the closest to modern scientific timelines. Brahmas day is divided in one thousand cycles, Maha Yuga, during which life and the human race appear and then disappear, has 71 divisions, each made of 14 Manvantara years. Each Maha Yuga lasts for 4,320,000 years, Manvantara is Manus cycle, the one who gives birth and governs the human race. Each Maha Yuga consists of a series of four shorter yugas, the yugas get progressively worse from a moral point of view as one proceeds from one yuga to another. As a result, each yuga is of shorter duration than the age that preceded it, the current Kali Yuga began at midnight 17 February /18 February in 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar kalpa=ahoratra of brahma. Space and time are considered to be maya, the life span of Lord Brahma, the creator, is 100 Brahma-Years. One day in the life of Brahma is called a Kalpa or 4.32 billion years, every Kalpa creates 14 Manus one after the other, who in turn manifest and regulate this world. Thus, there are fourteen generations of Manu in each Kalpa, each Manus life consists of 71 Chaturyugas. Each Chaturyuga is composed of four eras or Yugas, Satya, Treta, Dwapara, if we add all manvantaras, as long as 6 chaturyuga will be missing because sandhikaal after and before each manvantara. The span of the Satya Yuga is 1,728,000 human years, Treta Yuga is 1,296,000 human years long, the Dwapara Yuga 864,000 human years and the Kali Yuga 432,000 human years. When Manu perishes at the end of his life, Brahma creates the next Manu and the cycle continues until all fourteen Manus and the Universe perish by the end of Brahmas day. When night falls, Brahma goes to sleep for a period of 4.32 billion years, which is a period of time one day. The next morning, Brahma creates fourteen additional Manus in sequence just as he has done on the previous day, the cycle goes on for 100 divine years at the end of which Brahma perishes and is regenerated. Brahmas entire life equals 311 trillion,40 billion years, thus a second of Brahmā is 98,630 years. Once Brahma dies there is a period of unmanifestation for 311 trillion,40 billion years. During one life of Brahma there are 504000 Manus are changing, there are 5040 Manus are changing during one year of Brahma, the present period is the Kali Yuga or last era in one of the 71 Chaturyugis in the life one of the fourteen Manus

6.
Hindu mythology
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As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises

7.
God in Hinduism
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In Hindu monotheism, the concept of God varies from one sect to another. Hinduism is not exclusively monotheistic, and has described as spanning a wide range of henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, atheism and nontheism etc. This non-dualism postulates the identity of the Self or Atman with the Whole or Brahman, forms of explicit monotheism find mention in the canonical Bhagavad Gita. Explicit monotheism in the form of emotional or ecstatic devotion to an external and personal deity became popular in South India in the early medieval period. Ecstatic devotion to Krishna, a form of Vishnu, gained popularity throughout India during the Middle Ages, ecstatic devotion to Goddess Durga became popular in some parts of India in the later medieval and early modern ages. Vaishnavism, particularly Krishnaism, Shaktism and some forms of Shaivism remain the most explicit forms of worship of a personal God within Hinduism. Other Hindus, such as many of those who practice Shaivism, tend to assume the existence of a singular God, rather they envisage God as an impersonal Absolute, who can be worshipped only in part in a human form. The term Ishvara may refer to any of the monotheistic or monistic conceptions within Hinduism, in Hinduism, Brahman is the all-pervading, supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead, Brahman is conceived as personal, impersonal and/or supreme depending on the philosophical school. The sages of the Upanishads teach that Brahman is the essence of material phenomena that cannot be seen or heard. According to Advaita, a human being has realised Brahman as his or her own true self. The Isha Upanishad says, Auṃ – That supreme Brahman is infinite, if you subtract the infinite from the infinite, the infinite remains alone. The sages of the Upanishads made their pronouncements on the basis of experience as an essential component of their philosophical reflection. Several mahā-vākyas from the Upanisads indicate what the principle of Brahma is, In the Upanisads the sages teach that brahman is infinite Being, infinite Consciousness, and infinite Bliss. Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism posits that Brahman cannot be known by empirical means — that is to say, as an object of our consciousness — because Brahman is our very consciousness and being. Therefore, it may be said that moksha, yoga, samādhi, nirvana, etc. do not merely mean to know Brahman, but rather to realise ones brahman-hood, to actually realise that one is and always was Brahman. Indeed, closely related to the Self-concept of Brahman is the idea that it is synonymous with jiva-atma, or individual souls, according to Adi Shankara the nirguna brahman is non-different from the supreme personality, God, whatever qualities we attribute to the divine. By the power of Maya the supreme lord playfully creates multiple worlds and deludes all beings and this world is only relatively real and the real self is not affected by it

8.
Dharma
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Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages, in Buddhism dharma means cosmic law and order, but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for phenomena, Dharma in Jainism refers to the teachings of tirthankara and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings. For Sikhs, the word means the path of righteousness. The Classical Sanskrit noun dharma is a derivation from the root dhṛ, the word dharma was already in use in the historical Vedic religion, and its meaning and conceptual scope has evolved over several millennia. The antonym of dharma is adharma, the Classical Sanskrit noun dharma is a derivation from the root dhṛ, which means to hold, maintain, keep, and takes a meaning of what is established or firm, and hence law. It is derived from an older Vedic Sanskrit n-stem dharman-, with a meaning of bearer, supporter. In the Rigveda, the word appears as an n-stem, dhárman-, figuratively, it means sustainer and supporter. It is semantically similar to the Greek Ethos, in Classical Sanskrit, the noun becomes thematic, dharma-. The word dharma derives from Proto-Indo-European root *dʰer-, which in Sanskrit is reflected as class-1 root √dhṛ, etymologically it is related to Avestan √dar-, Latin firmus, Lithuanian derė́ti, Lithuanian dermė and darna and Old Church Slavonic drъžati. Classical Sanskrit word dharmas would formally match with Latin o-stem firmus from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-mo-s holding, were it not for its development from earlier Rigvedic n-stem. In Classical Sanskrit, and in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Atharvaveda, in Pāli, it is rendered dhamma. In some contemporary Indian languages and dialects it occurs as dharm. Dharma is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion and it has multiple meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is difficult to provide a concise definition for dharma, as the word has a long and varied history and straddles a complex set of meanings. There is no equivalent single word translation for dharma in western languages, there have been numerous, conflicting attempts to translate ancient Sanskrit literature with the word dharma into German, English and French. The concept, claims Paul Horsch, has caused difficulties for modern commentators and translators. Dharma root is dhri, which means ‘to support, hold and it is the thing that regulates the course of change by not participating in change, but that principle which remains constant

9.
Artha
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Artha is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy. The word artha literally translates as meaning, sense, goal, Artha is also a broader concept in the scriptures of Hinduism. As a concept, it has multiple meanings, all of which means of life. Artha applies to both an individual and a government, in an individuals context, artha includes wealth, career, activity to make a living, financial security and economic prosperity. The proper pursuit of artha is considered an important aim of life in Hinduism. At government level, artha includes social, legal, economic, proper Arthashastra is considered an important and necessary objective of government. In Hindu traditions, Artha is connected to the three aspects and goals of human life - Dharma, Kama and Moksha. Together, these mutually non-exclusive four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha, Artha as a concept includes multiple meanings. It is difficult to capture the meaning of artha, or related terms of dharma, kama and moksha, john Lochtefeld describes artha as the means of life, and includes material prosperity. Karl Potter explains it as an attitude and capability that enables one to make a living, to remain alive and it includes economic prosperity, security and health of oneself and those one feels responsible for. Artha includes everything in ones environment that allows one to live and it is neither an end state nor an endless goal of aimlessly amassing money, claims Karl Potter, rather it is an attitude and necessary requirement of human life. John Koller takes a different viewpoint than Karl Potters interpretation, john Koller suggests artha is not an attitude, rather it is one of the necessities of human life. Artha, then, is best described as pursuit of activities and means necessary for a joyous, daya Krishna argues that artha, as well as the concept of Puruṣārthas, is a myth. The various schools and ancient Sanskrit texts provide no consensus opinion, notes Krishna, rather they present a debate, inconsistencies and conflicting verses are even present within the same script, such as the Manusmriti. Some of this, suggests Krishna, reflects differences in human needs, perhaps, conjectures Krishna, artha is just a subset of kama and karma. Vatsyayana in Kama Sutra defines artha as the acquisition of arts, land, cattle, wealth, equipages and he explains, artha is also protection of what is already acquired, and the increase of what is protected. Gavin Flood explains artha as worldly success without violating dharma, kama, Flood clarifies that artha in ancient Hindu literature, as well as purushartha, is better understood as a goal of Man. In other words, it is one of the four purposes of human life, the survival and the thriving of humans requires artha - that is, economic activity, wealth and its creation, worldly success, profit, political success and all that is necessary for human existence

10.
Kama
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Kama means desire, wish, longing in Indian literature. Kama is one of the four goals of life in Hindu traditions. It is considered an essential and healthy goal of life when pursued without sacrificing the other three goals, Dharma, Artha and Moksha. Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha, Kama means “desire, wish or longing”. In contemporary literature, kama refers usually to sexual desire, however, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture and nature. The concept kama is found in some of the earliest known verses in Vedas, for example, Book 10 of Rig Veda describes the creation of the universe from nothing by the great heat. The Mahabharata, for example, provides one of the definitions of kama. Kama often implies the short form of the word kamana, Kama, however, is more than kamana. Vatsyayana, the author of Kamasutra, describes kama as happiness that is a manasa vyapara, experiencing harmonious music is kama, as is being inspired by natural beauty, the aesthetic appreciation of a work of art, and admiring with joy something created by another human being. Kama Sutra, in its discourse on kama, describes forms of art, dance. Karl Potter describes kama as an attitude and capacity, a little girl who hugs her teddy bear with a smile is experiencing kama, as are two lovers in embrace. During these experiences, the person connects and identifies the beloved as part of oneself and feels more complete, fulfilled and this, in the Indian perspective, is kāma. Hindery notes the inconsistent and diverse exposition of kama in various ancient texts of India, both Sita and Rama, frequently express their unwillingness and inability to live without the other. Gavin Flood explains kama as “love” without violating dharma, artha, in Hinduism, kama is regarded as one of the four proper and necessary goals of human life, the others being Dharma, Artha and Moksha. Ancient Indian literature emphasizes that dharma precedes and is essential, if dharma is ignored, artha and kama lead to social chaos. Vatsyayana in Kama Sutra recognizes relative value of three goals as follows, artha precedes kama, while dharma precedes both kama and artha. Vatsyayana, in Chapter 2 of Kama sutra, presents a series of philosophical objections argued against kama, the pursuit of pleasure, claim objectors, encourages individuals to commit unrighteous deeds, bring distress, carelessness, levity and suffering later in life. These objections were then answered by Vatsyayana, with the declaration that kama is as necessary to human beings as food, just like good food is necessary for the well being of the body, good pleasure is necessary for healthy existence of a human being, suggests Vatsyayana

11.
Moksha
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Moksha, also called vimoksha, vimukti and mukti, is a term in Hinduism and Hindu philosophy which refers to various forms of emancipation, liberation, and release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, in its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha refers to freedom from ignorance, self-realization and self-knowledge. In Hindu traditions, moksha is a concept and included as one of the four aspects and goals of human life. Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha in Hinduism, the concept of moksha is found in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. In some schools of Indian religions, moksha is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with terms such as vimoksha, vimukti, kaivalya, apavarga, mukti, nihsreyasa. However, terms such as moksha and nirvana differ and mean different states between various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the term nirvana is more common in Buddhism, while moksha is more prevalent in Hinduism. Moksha is derived from the root Sanskrit, मुच्, muc, in Vedas and early Upanishads, the word Sanskrit, मुच्यते, mucyate appears, which means to be set free or release - such as of a horse from its harness. The definition and meaning of moksha varies between schools of Indian religions. Moksha means freedom, liberation, from what and how is where the schools differ, Moksha is also a concept that means liberation from rebirth or saṃsāra. This liberation can be attained while one is on earth, or eschatologically, some Indian traditions have emphasized liberation on concrete, ethical action within the world. This liberation is a transformation that permits one to see the truth. For example, Vivekachudamani - an ancient book on moksha, explains one of many steps on the path to moksha, as. Samsara originated with religious movements in the first millennium BCE and these movements such as Buddhism, Jainism and new schools within Hinduism, saw human life as bondage to a repeated process of rebirth. This bondage to repeated rebirth and life, each subject to injury, disease. By release from this cycle, the involved in this cycle also ended. This release was called moksha, nirvana, kaivalya, mukti, in earliest Vedic literature, heaven and hell sufficed soteriological curiosities. The rebirth idea ultimately flowered into the ideas of saṃsāra, or transmigration - where one’s balance sheet of karma determined one’s rebirth, along with this idea of saṃsāra, the ancient scholars developed the concept of moksha, as a state that released a person from the saṃsāra cycle. Moksha release in eschatological sense in these ancient literature of Hinduism, suggests van Buitenen, comes from self-knowledge, the meaning of moksha in epistemological and psychological sense has been variously explained by scholars

12.
Maya (illusion)
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Maya, literally illusion or magic, has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In ancient Vedic literature, Māyā literally implies extraordinary power and wisdom, in later Vedic texts and modern literature dedicated to Indian traditions, Māyā connotes a magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem. In Buddhism, Maya is the name of Gautama Buddhas mother, in Hinduism, Maya is also an epithet for goddess, and the name of a manifestation of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity and love. Maya is also a name for girls, Māyā is a word with unclear etymology, probably comes from the root mā which means to measure. According to William Mahony, the root of the word may be man- or to think, in early Vedic usage, the term implies, states Mahony, the wondrous and mysterious power to turn an idea into a physical reality. Franklin Southworth states the origin is uncertain, and other possible roots of māyā include may- meaning mystify, confuse, intoxicate, delude, as well as māy- which means disappear. Jan Gonda considers the word related to mā, which means mother, as do Tracy Pintchman and Adrian Snodgrass, serving as an epithet for goddesses such as Lakshmi. Maya here implies art, is the power, writes Zimmer. A similar word is found in the Avestan māyā with the meaning of magic power. Words related to and containing Māyā, such as Mayava, occur many times in the Vedas and these words have various meanings, with interpretations that are contested, and some are names of deities that do not appear in texts of 1st millennium BCE and later. The use of word Māyā in Rig veda, in the later era context of magic, illusion, power, the hymn is a call to discern ones enemies, perceive artifice, and distinguish, using ones mind, between that which is perceived and that which is unperceived. Rig veda does not connote the word Māyā as always good or always bad, it is simply a form of technique, mental power and means. Rig veda uses the word in two contexts, implying there are two kinds of Māyā, divine Māyā and undivine Māyā, the former being the foundation of truth. Elsewhere in Vedic mythology, Indra uses Maya to conquer Vritra, varunas supernatural power is called Maya. Māyā, in such examples, connotes powerful magic, which both devas and asuras use against each other, in the Yajurveda, māyā is an unfathomable plan. In the Aitareya Brahmana Maya is also referred to as Dirghajihvi, hostile to gods and sacrifices. In hymns of 8.10.22, Virāj is used by Asuras who call her as Māyā, as follows, The contextual meaning of Maya in Atharvaveda is power of creation, not illusion. Gonda suggests the meaning of Maya in Vedic literature is, wisdom and power enabling its possessor, or being able itself, to create, devise, contrive, effect

13.
Karma
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Karma means action, work or deed, it also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma, Karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Asian religions. In these schools, karma in the present affects ones future in the current life, as well as the nature, with origins in ancient India, karma is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism. Karma is the deed, work, action, or act, and it is also the object. Halbfass explains karma by contrasting it with another Sanskrit word kriya, a good action creates good karma, as does good intent. A bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent, Karma, also refers to a conceptual principle that originated in India, often descriptively called the principle of karma, sometimes as the karma theory or the law of karma. In the context of theory, karma is complex and difficult to define, other Indologists include in the definition of karma theory that which explains the present circumstances of an individual with reference to his or her actions in past. The law of karma operates independent of any deity or any process of divine judgment, Buddhism and Jainism have their own karma precepts. Thus karma has not one, but multiple definitions and different meanings and it is a concept whose meaning, importance and scope varies between Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and other traditions that originated in India, and various schools in each of these traditions. OFlaherty claims that, furthermore, there is a debate regarding whether karma is a theory, a model, a paradigm. Karma theory as a concept, across different Indian religious traditions, shares common themes, causality, ethicization. A common theme to theories of karma is its principle of causality, one of the earliest association of karma to causality occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of Hinduism. For example, at 4.4. 5-6, it states, The relationship of karma to causality is a motif in all schools of Hindu, Jain. Disinterested actions, or unintentional actions do not have the positive or negative karmic effect, as interested. Another causality characteristic, shared by Karmic theories, is that like deeds lead to like effects, thus good karma produces good effect on the actor, while bad karma produces bad effect. This effect may be material, moral or emotional — that is, the effect of karma need not be immediate, the effect of karma can be later in ones current life, and in some schools it extends to future lives. The consequence or effects of karma can be described in two forms, phalas and samskaras. A phala is the visible or invisible effect that is typically immediate or within the current life, the theory of karma is often presented in the context of samskaras

14.
Ethics in religion
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Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. A central aspect of ethics is the life, the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying. Most religions have a component, often derived from purported supernatural revelation or guidance. Some assert that religion is necessary to live ethically, blackburn states that there are those who would say that we can only flourish under the umbrella of a strong social order, cemented by common adherence to a particular religious tradition. Ethics in Buddhism are traditionally based on the perspective of the Buddha. Moral instructions are included in Buddhist scriptures or handed down through tradition, according to traditional Buddhism, the foundation of Buddhist ethics for laypeople is the Pancasila, no killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, or intoxicants. In becoming a Buddhist, or affirming ones commitment to Buddhism, Buddhist monks and nuns take hundreds more such vows. The sole reliance on traditional formulae or practices, however, can be questioned by Western Buddhists whose main concern is the solution of complex moral problems in the modern world. The Buddha provided some basic guidelines for behavior that are part of the Noble Eightfold Path. The initial percept is non-injury or non-violence to all living creatures from the lowest insect to humans and this precept defines a non-violent attitude toward every living thing. Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi has observed, Buddhist ethics, as formulated in the five precepts, is charged with being entirely negative. T has to be pointed out that the five precepts, or even the longer codes of precepts promulgated by the Buddha, the precepts are only the most rudimentary code of moral training, but the Buddha also proposes other ethical codes inculcating definite positive virtues. The Mangala Sutta, for example, commends reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude, patience, generosity, other discourses prescribe numerous family, social, and political duties establishing the well being of society. And behind all these duties lie the four called the immeasurables — loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy. Christian ethics in general has tended to stress the need for love, grace, mercy, with divine assistance, the Christian is called to become increasingly virtuous in both thought and deed, see also the Evangelical counsels. Conversely, the Christian is also called to abstain from vice, Christian ethical principles are based on the teachings within the Bible. They begin with the notion of inherent sinfulness, which requires essential atonement, sin is estrangement from God which is the result of not doing Gods will. Gods will can be summed up by the precept, Love God with all heart, soul, mind, and strength

15.
Ahimsa
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Ahimsa means not to injure and compassion and refers to a key virtue in Indian religions. The word is derived from the Sanskrit root hiṃs – to strike, hiṃsā is injury or harm, a-hiṃsā is the opposite of this, i. e. cause no injury, do no harm. Ahimsa is also referred to as nonviolence, and it applies to all living beings—including all animals—in ancient Indian religions, Ahimsa is one of the cardinal virtues and an important tenet of Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Ahimsa is a concept, inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy, therefore. Ahimsa has also related to the notion that any violence has karmic consequences. While ancient scholars of Hinduism pioneered and over time perfected the principles of Ahimsa, most popularly, Mahatma Gandhi strongly believed in the principle of ahimsa. Ahimsas precept of cause no injury includes ones deeds, words, classical literature of Hinduism such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as modern scholars debate principles of Ahimsa when one is faced with war and situations requiring self-defence. The historic literature from India and modern discussions have contributed to theories of Just War, and theories of appropriate self-defence. The word Ahimsa—sometimes spelled as Ahinsa—is derived from the Sanskrit root hiṃs – to strike, hiṃsā is injury or harm, a-hiṃsā is the opposite of this, There is a debate on the origins of the word Ahimsa, and how its meaning evolved. Mayrhofer as well as Dumot suggest the word may be han which means kill. Schmidt as well as Bodewitz explain the root word is hiṃs and the Sanskrit verb hinasti. Wackernagel-Debrunner concur with the latter explanation, ancient texts use ahimsa to mean non-injury, a broader concept than non-violence. Non-injury implies not killing others, as well as not hurting others mentally or verbally, in classical Sanskrit literature of Hinduism, another word Adrohi is sometimes used instead of Ahimsa, as one of the cardinal virtues necessary for moral life. One example is in Baudhayana Dharmasutra 2.6.23, Ahimsa as an ethical concept evolved in Vedic texts. The oldest scripts, along with discussing ritual animal sacrifices, indirectly mention Ahimsa, the term Ahimsa appears in the text Taittiriya Shakha of the Yajurveda, where it refers to non-injury to the sacrificer himself. It occurs several times in the Shatapatha Brahmana in the sense of non-injury, the Ahimsa doctrine is a late Vedic era development in Brahmanical culture. Bowker states the word appears but is uncommon in the principal Upanishads, Kaneda gives examples of the word Ahimsa in these Upanishads. Other scholars suggest Ahimsa as a concept that started evolving in the Vedas

16.
Asteya
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Asteya is the Sanskrit term for non-stealing. It is a virtue in Jainism and Hinduism, Asteya is considered as one of five yamas in the Yoga school of Hinduism, and as one of ten forms of temperance in Indian philosophy. The practice of asteya demands that one must not steal, nor have the intent to steal anothers property through action, speech and thoughts. Asteya is defined in Hindu scripts as the abstinence, in ones deeds or words or thoughts and it is a widely discussed virtue in ethical theories of Hinduism. For example, in the Yoga Sūtras, Asteya is listed as the third Yamas or virtue of self-restraint, along with Ahimsa, Satya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. Asteya is thus one of the five essential restraints in Hinduism and it is part of ethical theory in Hinduism. Sandilya Upanishad identifies ten yamas as a virtue in Yoga, ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, daya, arjava, kshama, dhrti, mitahara and saucha. It explains asteya as neither taking nor coveting anothers property through the actions of body, speech. Patañjali includes asteya in his five ethical precepts, the Epics too mention asteya as a virtue. For example, in Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, asteya is declared as part of dharma, in Chapter 259 of Moksha dharma parva, the Mahabharata explains asetya, along with satya, ahimsa and other virtues, are necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the world. These virtues are part of dharma, the Epic explains, during anarchy, one thief appropriates what belongs to others. The same thief, explains the Epic, is upset and demands justice when other thieves, however and this means the thief instinctively feels theft is wrong when he is the victim. Dharma cannot selectively apply or favor a few, it must apply to all, indignation for offended rights of property and the virtue of Asteya is thus a universal necessity of a good individual and good society, explains the Mahabharata. Numerous minor Sanskrit scholarly commentaries from ancient India also discuss Asetya, in the Saivite school, for example, Kaundinyas Pancartha Bhasya on Sanskrit scholar Lakulisa includes Asteya in its discussion and analysis of virtues. Hindu scriptures exist in many Indian languages, for example, Tirukkuṛaḷ written between 200 BC and 400 AD, and sometimes called the Tamil Veda, is one of the most cherished classics on Hinduism written in a South Indian language. It discusses the vice of stealing and fraud, dedicating Chapter 29 of Book 1 on Virtues to it, Tirukkuṛaḷ suggests fraud and stealing creates misery and poverty for everyone. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami translates Tirukkuṛaḷs first three verses in Chapter 23 as, He who wishes not to be scorned by others, the mere thought of sin is sin. Therefore, avoid even the thought of stealing from another, a fortune amassed by fraud may appear to prosper, but will all too soon perish altogether

17.
Satya
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Satya is the Sanskrit word for truth. It also refers to a virtue in Indian religions, referring to being truthful in ones thought, speech, in Yoga, satya is one of five yamas, the virtuous restraint from falsehood and distortion of reality in ones expressions and actions. In the Vedas and later sutras, the meaning of the word satya evolves into a concept about truthfulness and is considered an important virtue. It means being true and consistent with reality in ones thought, speech, a related concept, sattva, also derived from sat, means true essence, nature, spiritual essence, character. Sattva is also a guṇa, a psychology concept particularly in the Samkhya school of philosophy, Satya is a central theme in the Vedas. It is equated with and considered necessary to the concept Ṛta – that which is joined, order, rule, nature, balance. Ṛta results from Satya in the Vedas, states Holdrege, as it regulates and enables the operation of the universe, Satya is considered essential, and without it, the universe and reality falls apart, cannot function. In Rigveda, opposed to rita and satya are anrita and asatya, Truth and truthfulness is considered as a form of reverence for the divine, while falsehood a form of sin. Satya includes action and speech that is factual, real, true, however, Satya isnt merely about ones past that is in context in the Vedas, it has ones current and ones future contexts as well. De Nicolás states, that in Rigveda, Satya is the modality of acting in the world of Sat, as the truth to be built, formed or established. Satya is a widely discussed concept in various Upanishads, including the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where satya is called the means to Brahman, in hymn 1.4.14 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Satya is equated to Dharma, as Nothing is higher than the Law of Righteousness. The weak overcomes the stronger by the Law of Righteousness, truly that Law is the Truth, Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, He speaks Righteousness, and if he speaks Righteousness, they say, He speaks the Truth. Taittiriya Upanishads hymn 11.11 states, Speak the Satya, Truth is sought, praised in the hymns of Upanishads, held as one that ultimately, always prevails. The Mundaka Upanishad, for example, states in Book 3, Chapter 1, Sandilya Upanishad of Atharvanaveda, in Chapter 1, includes ten forbearances as virtues, in its exposition of Yoga. It defines Satya as the speaking of the truth that conduces to the well being of creatures, through the actions of ones mind, speech or body. Both these ideas are explained in early Upanishads, composed before 500 BC, in later Upanishads, the ideas evolve and transcend into satya as truth, and Brahman as the Being, Be-ness, real Self, the eternal. The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata states, The righteous hold that forgiveness, truth, sincerity, Truth is the essence of the Vedas. The Epic repeatedly emphasizes that Satya is a virtue, because everything and everyone depends on

18.
Temperance (virtue)
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Temperance is defined as moderation or voluntary self-restraint. It is typically described in terms of what an individual voluntarily refrains from doing, Temperance has been described as a virtue by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology movement. In classical iconography, the virtue is depicted as a woman holding two vessels transferring water from one to another. It was one of the virtues in western thought found in Greek philosophy and Christianity. Temperance is one of the six virtues in the positive psychology classification, included with wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, themes of temperance can be seen across cultures and time, as illustrated here. Temperance is an part of the Eightfold Path. The third and fifth of the five precepts reflect values of temperance, misconduct concerning sense pleasures, the concept of dama in Hinduism is equivalent to temperance. It is sometimes written as damah, the word dama, and Sanskrit derivative words based on it, connote the concepts of self-control and self-restraint. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, in verse 5.2.3, states that three characteristics of a good, developed person are self-restraint, compassion and love for all sentinent life, in Hinduism literature dedicated to yoga, self-restraint is expounded with the concept of yamas. According to ṣaṭsampad, self-restraint is one of the six cardinal virtues, the list of virtues that constitute a moral life evolve in vedas and upanishads. Over time, new virtues were conceptualized and added, some replaced, for example, Manusamhita initially listed ten virtues necessary for a human being to live a dharmic life, Dhriti, Kshama, Dama, Asteya, Saucha, Indriyani-graha, dhi, vidya, satyam, akrodha. In later verses this list was reduced to five virtues by the same scholar, the shorter list of virtues became, Ahimsa, Dama, Asteya, Saucha, Satyam. This trend of evolving concepts continue in classical Sanskrit literature, Dama with Ahimsa, the scope of self-restraint includes ones action, the words one speaks or writes, and in ones thoughts. The necessity for temperance is explained as preventing bad karma which sooner or later haunts, the theological need for self-restraint is also explained as reigning in the damaging effect of ones action on others, as hurting another is hurting oneself because all life is one. The Greek definition of temperance translates to “moderation in action, thought, or feeling, Temperance is a major Athenian virtue, as advocated by Plato, self-restraint is one of his four core virtues of the ideal city, and echoed by Aristotle. According to Aristotle, “temperance is a mean with regard to pleasures”, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, temperance is prolific. The Old Testament emphasizes temperance as a virtue, as evidenced in both Solomons Book of Proverbs and in the Ten Commandments, with its admonitions against adultery. The New Testament does so as well, with forgiveness being central to theology, with regard to Christian theology, the word temperance is used by the King James Version in Galatians 5,23 for the Greek word ἐγκρατεία, which means self-control or discipline

19.
Compassion
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Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help them. Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to physical, spiritual. There is also an aspect of compassion which regards a quantitative dimension, such that individuals compassion is often given a property of depth, vigour, the etymology of compassion is Latin, meaning co-suffering. More involved than simple empathy, compassion commonly gives rise to a desire to alleviate anothers suffering. Compassion is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the context as altruism. In ethical terms, the expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Rule often embodies by implication the principle of compassion, the English noun compassion, meaning to love together with, comes from Latin. Ranked a great virtue in numerous philosophies, compassion is considered in almost all the religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues. Three theoretical perspectives of compassion have been proposed, which are contrasted by their predictions, Compassion as a synonym of empathic distress, which is characterized by the feeling of distress in connection with another persons suffering. This perspective of compassion is based on the finding that people sometimes emulate, Compassion is simply a variation of love or sadness, not a distinct emotion. From the perspective of psychology, Compassion can be viewed as a distinct emotional state, which can be differentiated from distress, sadness. Identifying with another person is a process for human beings. This process is related to compassion because sympathizing with others is possible with people from other countries, cultures, locations. A possible source of process of identifying with others comes from a universal category called Spirit. Toward the late 1970s, very different cultures and nations around the world took a turn to religious fundamentalism, the more one person knows about the human condition and the associated experiences is another route to identification. The importance of identifying with others for compassion is contrasted by the physical and psychological effects of abandonment. Compassion seems to be characteristic of democratic societies, the role of compassion as a factor contributing to individual or societal behavior has been the topic of continuous debate. In contrast to the process of identifying with other people, an absence of compassion may require ignoring or disapproving identification with other people or groups. This concept has been illustrated throughout history, The Holocaust, Genocide, European colonization of the Americas, the seemingly essential step in these atrocities could be the defining of the victims as not human or not us

20.
Tapas (Sanskrit)
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Tapas is a Sanskrit word that means to heat. It also connotes certain spiritual practices in Indian religions, the Tapas practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha. In certain contexts, the term means penance, pious activity, Tapas is based on the root Tap meaning to heat, to give out warmth, to shine, to burn. The term evolves to mean to suffer, to mortify the body, undergo penance in order to burn away past karma. The term Tapas means warmth, heat, fire, the meaning of the word evolves in ancient Indian literature. The earliest discussions of tapas, and compound words from the root tap relate to the necessary for biological birth. Some of the earliest reference of tapas, and compound words from the tap is found in many ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Ŗg Veda, Satapatha Brahmana. In these texts, tapas is described as the process led to the spiritual birth of ṛṣis - sages of spiritual insights. The Atharva Veda suggests all the gods were tapas-born, and all life was created from the suns tapas. In the Jāiminiya-Upanisad Brāhmaņa, life itself and creates progeny by tapas. Sanskrit tapasyā, literally produced by heat, refers to a personal endeavor of discipline, one who undertakes tapas is a Tapasvin. The fire deity of Hinduism, Agni, is central to many Hindu rituals such as yajna, Agni is considered an agent of heat, of sexual energy, of incubation, Agni is considered a great tapasvin. The word tapasvi refers to an ascetic or meditator, while tapasvinī to a female. Before he reached his enlightenment, the Buddha tried asceticism of the found in other Śramaṇa religions. Post-enlightenment, the Buddhist doctrines of the Middle Way and Noble Eightfold Path did not include ascetic practices, for this reason, the elimination of previous deeds through penance and the non-performaning of new deeds is tantamount to non-inflow in the future. From the non flow in the future, there is destruction of deeds, from the destruction of deeds, there is destruction of pain. From the destruction of pain, there is destruction of feeling, from the destruction of feeling, thus say, o monks, those free of bonds. These ascetic Tapas practices is also confirmed by Jainism texts such as Uttarajjhyayana, in the Mahayana tradition, asceticism with esoteric and mystical meanings became an accepted practice, such as in the Tendai and Shingon schools of Japanese Buddhism

21.
Bhakti yoga
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Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on the cultivation of love and devotion toward God. It has been defined as a practice of devotion toward God, solely motivated by the sincere, loving desire to please God, the origins of Bhakti can be seen in the upanishads, specifically the Shvetashvatara Upanishad. The Bhagavad Gita, and the Puranas are important scriptures that expound the philosophy of bhakti yoga, Hindu movements in which bhakti yoga is the main practice are called bhakti movements – the major schools of which are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term that signifies an attitude of devotion to a personal God which is similar to a number of relationships between humans, such as between lovers or friends. The difference is that in bhakti, the relationship is between a soul and a supersoul, Bhakti is a yogic path, in that the devotees aim is of loving union with God. While the exact form through which God is worshiped and the nature of the union varies between different schools, the essence of the practice displays remarkable homogeneity. The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada, śravaṇa, kīrtana, visnoh smaraṇa, pāda-sevana, arcana, vandana, dāsya, sākhya and these nine principles of devotional service are described as helping the devotee remain constantly in touch with God. The processes of japa and internal meditation on the aspirant devotees iṣṭa-devatā, the Indians spiritual teacher Meher Baba stated, Out of a number of practices which lead to the ultimate goal of humanity – God-Realisation – Bhakti Yoga is one of the most important. Almost the whole of humanity is concerned with Bhakti Yoga, which, in simple words, but it must be understood in all its true aspects, and not merely in a narrow and shallow sense, in which the term is commonly used and interpreted. The profound worship based on the ideals of philosophy and spirituality, prompted by divine love. Swami Sivananda wrote, “Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and it infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments, the devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge”. The ultimate goal in the practice of Bhakti yoga is to reach the state of rasa, the Bhagavad Gita is a cornerstone of Hindu bhakti theism, especially among Vaishnavists. The Bhagavad Gita stresses that love and innocent pure intentions are the most powerful forces in a devotees spiritual life. Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me, being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God. All these groups have great respect for the primary deities

22.
Jnana yoga
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Jñāna yoga or Jnanamarga refers to the path of knowledge, also known as the path of self realization in Hinduism. It is one of the three classical paths or types of yoga for the liberation of the Atman, the jnanamarga ideas are discussed in ancient and medieval era Hindu scriptures and texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The jnana yoga is self-liberation through the pursuit of intellectual knowledge, the other two are karma yoga and bhakti yoga. The root jñā- is cognate to English know, as well as to the Greek γνώ-, Jnana is knowledge, and refers to any cognitive event that is correct and true over time. It particularly refers to knowledge inseparable from the experience of its object. In Hinduism, it is knowledge which gives Moksha, or spiritual release while alive or after death and this explanation in found in the ancient Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Jñāna yoga is the path towards attaining jnana and it is one of the three classical types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies, the other two being karma yoga and bhakti. In modern classifications, classical yoga, being called Raja yoga, is mentioned as a fourth one, of the three different paths to liberation, jnana marga and karma marga are the more ancient, traceable to Vedic era literature. All three paths are available to any Hindu, chosen based on inclination, aptitude and personal preference, the classical yoga emphasizes the practice of dhyana, and this is a part of all three classical paths in Hinduism, including jñāna yoga. The path of knowledge is intended for those who prefer philosophical reflection and it requires study, in the Upanishads, jnana yoga aims at the realization of the oneness of the individual self and the ultimate Self. In the Bhagavad Gita, jnana yoga is also referred to as buddhi yoga, the text considers jnana marga as the most difficult, slow, confusing for those who prefer it because it deals with formless reality, the avyakta. It is the path that intellectually oriented people tend to prefer, the chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita is dedicated to the general exposition of jnana yoga, while chapters 7 and 16 discuss its theological and axiological aspects. Krishna says that jñāna is the purest, and a discovery of ones Atman, Truly, in time, he who is perfected in yoga finds that in his own Atman. Classical Advaita Vedanta emphasises the path of Jnana Yoga to attain moksha, dispassion of fruits — The dispassionate indifference to the fruits, to enjoyments of objects or to the other worlds after rebirth. Manana refers to thinking on these discussions and contemplating over the ideas based on svadhyaya. Nididhyāsana refers to meditation, realization and consequent conviction of the truths, non-duality, both the theistic and monistic streams of Shaivism include jnana yoga ideas, along with those related to karma yoga, and in the case of Saiva Siddhanta ideas related to bhakti yoga. The Shaivism traditions do not consider necessary for practicing jnana yoga. Spirituality can be pursued along with life, according to Shaiva traditions

23.
Karma yoga
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Karma yoga, or the Yoga of action is a form of yoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the three paths to realization, karma yoga is the process of achieving perfection in selfless action, Karma Yoga is primarily the practice of selfless service to humanity whereby a spiritual seeker attempts to give their actions selflessly without hoping for merit, fame or glory. Practicing Karma Yoga eventually takes the seeker to the point of mental purification, oneness with humanity and inner peace by continually offering action selflessly to God, ultimately Karma Yoga practise brings true Knowledge of the Self and prepares one to be receptive to the divine light of God. The Practicing of the service in Karma Yoga is believed to lead with its purification of the mind and heart. In this practice, one is seen as being used as an instrument in the hands of God without expectation of reward in return, the Bhagavad Gita gives a summary of the karma yoga process. Their conversation is prompted by Arjuna as he is engulfed by sorrow and misgivings regarding the battle in which he has friends. In reply, Krishna then elucidates upon a number of philosophical yoga systems, one acts without being attached to the results of ones deeds. Simply put, one does not get involved in the action being performed, becoming overly excited. The result may be negative or positive, Geeta also talks about Meta-Karma Yoga. I. e. not getting irritated, annoyed or unhappy when one gets attached to the result even after trying to practice Karma Yoga, Krishna explains that work done without selfish expectations purifies ones mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason. Another important quotation from the Bhagavad Gita which elucidates karma yoga is योगः कर्मसु कौशलं॥, any conscious action is motivated by some expectation about the outcome, yet one is to be careful to not let this expectation be selfish in a certain sense. This is accomplished by surrendering ownership of action to Krishna and this surrender is called sattvika tyaga. The Shrivaishnava tradition formalizes this by recommending the chanting of a prior to the performance of any such significant karma. This shloka, with its meaning is given below, bhagavan eva svaniyamya sva-sheSha-bhUtena maya sva-ArAdhana-eka-prayojanAya idam <name of the karma> svasmai svaprItyai svayam eva karayati. This translates to, The auspicious deity, exerting control on himself, using me as an instrument, himself effects <name of the karma>, the same shloka may be repeated after the performance of the action, except one replaces karayati to karayitavAn to indicate past tense. The common refrain सर्वं श्री-कॄष्णार्पणमस्तु॥ is used for the same effect, as with a number of other philosophies in Hinduism, karma yoga is based on a general understanding of karma and reincarnation. It is believed that a man is born with certain tendencies and this process continues until the individual attains a zero balance, where in one achieves liberation. This liberation is called Moksha which is achieved if the Hindu breaks the cycle of Samsara and it can be achieved through Jnana Yoga

24.
Samkhya
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Samkhya or Sankhya is one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy. It is most related to the Yoga school of Hinduism, Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepts three of six pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include pratyakṣa, anumāṇa and śabda, sometimes described as one of the rationalist school of Indian philosophy, this ancient schools reliance on reason was neither exclusive nor strong. Sāmkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities, puruṣa and prakṛti, Jiva is that state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakṛti in some form. This fusion, state the Samkhya scholars, led to the emergence of buddhi, during the state of imbalance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage, particularly of the mind. The end of this imbalance, bondage is called liberation, or kaivalya, the existence of God or supreme being is not directly asserted, nor considered relevant by the Samkhya philosophers. Sāṃkhya denies the final cause of Ishvara, while the Samkhya school considers the Vedas as a reliable source of knowledge, it is an atheistic philosophy according to Paul Deussen and other scholars. A key difference between Samkhya and Yoga schools, state scholars, is that Yoga school accepts a personal, yet essentially inactive, Samkhya is known for its theory of guṇas. Everything, all forms and human beings, state Samkhya scholars, have these three guṇas, but in different proportions. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature, the Samkhya theory of guṇas was widely discussed, developed and refined by various schools of Indian philosophies, including Buddhism. Samkhyas philosophical treatises also influenced the development of theories of Hindu ethics. In the context of ancient Indian philosophies, Samkhya refers to the school in Hinduism based on systematic enumeration. The word samkhya means empirical or relating to numbers, some 19th and 20th century scholars suggested that Samkhya may have non-Vedic origins. For the Sankhya philosophy is, in its essence, not only atheistic, dandekar, similarly wrote in 1968, The origin of the Sankhya is to be traced to the pre-Vedic non-Aryan thought complex. Some scholars disagreed with this view, here – in Kaushitaki Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad – the germ are to be found two of the main ideas of classical Samkhya. More recent scholarship offers another perspective, Ruzsa in 2006, for example, states, Sāṅkhya has a very long history. Its roots go deeper than textual traditions allow us to see, the ancient Buddhist Aśvaghoṣa describes Arāḍa Kālāma, the teacher of the young Buddha as following an archaic form of Sāṅkhya. Anthony Warder in 2009, summarizes that Samkhya and Mīmāṃsā schools appear to have been established before Sramana traditions in India, speculations in the direction of the Samkhya can be found in the early Upanishads

25.
Yoga (philosophy)
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Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to the Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga and it is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. The Yoga schools systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all schools of Indian philosophy. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a key text of the Yoga school of Hinduism, the epistemology of the Yoga school of Hinduism, like the Sāmkhya school, relies on three of six Pramanas as the means of gaining reliable knowledge. These include Pratyakṣa, Anumāṇa and Sabda, the metaphysics of Yoga is built on the same dualist foundation as the Samkhya school. The universe is conceptualized as composed of two realities in the Samhkya-Yoga schools, Puruṣa and prakriti, jiva is considered as a state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind. During the state of imbalance or ignorance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, the end of this bondage is called liberation, or moksha, by both the Yoga and Samkhya schools of Hinduism. The ethical theory of the Yoga school is based on Yamas and Niyama, the Yoga school of Hinduism differs from the closely related non-theistic/atheistic Samkhya school by incorporating the concept of a personal, yet essentially inactive, deity or personal god. Advaita Vedanta, and other schools of Hinduism, accept, adopt and build many of the teachings. The origins of the Yoga school of Hinduism are unclear, some of its earliest discussions are found in 1st millennium BCE Indian texts such as the Katha Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitri Upanishad. The root of Yoga is found in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rig Veda, युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically control their minds and their intelligence. Rigveda, however, does not describe Yoga philosophy with the meaning or context as in medieval or modern times. Early references to practices that became part of Yoga school of Hinduism, are made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Gavin Flood translates it as. having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self, the practice of pranayama is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and the practice of pratyahara is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad. The Katha Upanishad, dated to be from about the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, in verses 2.6.6 through 2.6.13 recommends a path to Self-knowledge and it influenced and was influenced by other schools and Indian philosophies. Patanjalis Yoga Sutras may be a synthesis of these three traditions, the third concept that the Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the ancient ascetic traditions of isolation, meditation and introspection. The systematic collection of ideas of the Yoga school of Hinduism is found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Yoga school of Hinduism has been included as one of the six orthodox schools in medieval era Indian texts. The other schools are Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy is most closely related to the Samkhya school

26.
Nyaya
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Nyāya, literally means rules, method or judgment. It is also the name of one of the six schools of Hinduism. This schools most significant contributions to Indian philosophy was systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, Nyaya schools epistemology accepts four out of six Pramanas as reliable means of gaining knowledge – Pratyakṣa, Anumāṇa, Upamāṇa and Śabda. In its metaphysics, Nyaya school is closer to Vaisheshika school of Hinduism than others and it holds that human suffering results from mistakes/defects produced by activity under wrong knowledge. Moksha, it states, is gained through right knowledge and this premise led Nyaya to concern itself with epistemology, that is the reliable means to gain correct knowledge and to remove wrong notions. False knowledge is not merely ignorance to Naiyyayikas, it includes delusion, correct knowledge is discovering and overcoming ones delusions, and understanding true nature of soul, self and reality. Naiyyayika scholars approached philosophy as a form of realism, stating that anything that really exists is in principle humanly knowable. To them, correct knowledge and understanding is different than simple, reflexive cognition, an influential collection of texts on logic and reason is the Nyayasutras, attributed to Aksapada Gautama, variously estimated to have been composed between 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century CE. Nyaya is a Sanskrit word which means method, rule, specially a collection of general or universal rules, in some contexts, it means model, axiom, plan, legal proceeding, judicial sentence, or judgment. In the theory of logic, and Indian texts discussing it, in philosophical context, Nyaya encompasses propriety, logic and method. Nyaya is related to other concepts and words used in Indian philosophies, Hetu-vidya, Anviksiki, Pramana-sastra, Tattva-sastra, Tarka-vidya, Vadartha. Some of these subsume or deploy the tools of Nyaya, the historical development of Nyaya school is unclear, although Nasadiya hymns of Book 10 Chapter 129 of Rigveda recite its spiritual questions in logical propositions. In early centuries BCE, states Clooney, the early Nyaya scholars began compiling the science of rational, coherent inquiry, by 2nd century CE, Aksapada Gautama had composed Nyayasutras, a foundational text for Nyaya school, that primarily discusses logic, methodology and epistemology. The Nyaya scholars that followed refined it, expanded it, later Nyaya scholars, such as Udayana, examined various arguments on theism and attempted to prove existence of God. Other Nyaya scholars offered arguments to disprove the existence of God, the Nyaya metaphysics recognizes sixteen padarthas or categories and includes all six categories of the Vaisheshika in the second one of them, called prameya. These sixteen categories are pramāṇa, prameya, saṁśaya, prayojana, dṛṣṭānta, siddhānta, avayava, tarka, nirṇaya, vāda, jalpa, vitaṇḍā, hetvābhāsa, chala, jāti and nigrahasthāna. The Nyaya school of Hinduism developed and refined many treatises on epistemology that widely influenced other schools of Hinduism, Nyaya treated it as theory of knowledge, and its scholars developed it as Pramana-sastras. Pramana, a Sanskrit word, literally is means of knowledge and it encompasses one or more reliable and valid means by which human beings gain accurate, true knowledge

Brahman
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In Hinduism, Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient and it is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a concept is the single binding unity behin

1.
Impact of a drop of water in water, a common analogy for Brahman and the Ātman

2.
Swan (Hansa, हंस) is the symbol for Brahman-Atman in Hindu iconography.

Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu syn

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Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.

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The Rigveda is the first and most important Veda and is one of the oldest religious texts. This Rigveda manuscript is in Devanagari.

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A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical Hindu wedding is solemnized before Vedic fire ritual (shown).

Hindu
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Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer t

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A Hindu wedding ritual in India.

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Hindu culture in Bali, Indonesia. The Krishna-Arjuna sculpture inspired by the Bhagavad Gita in Denpasar (top), and Hindu dancers in traditional dress.

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Hindus at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar near river Ganges in Uttarakhand state of India.

History of Hinduism
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History of Hinduism denotes a wide variety of related Hindu denominations native to the Indian Subcontinent, most of whom live in modern-day Nepal and India. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of Indian religions since Iron Age India and it has thus been called the oldest living religion in the world. Scholars regard Hinduism as

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The so-called Shiva Pashupati seal from Indus Valley Civilization

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Swastika Seals from the Indus Valley Civilization preserved at the British Museum

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Babur visits a Hindu temple.

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Photograph of the Surya Temple, The most impressive and grandest ruins in Kashmir, at Marttand-Hardy Cole's Archaeological Survey of India Report 'Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir.' (1869)

Hindu cosmology
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In Hindu cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. Deeply rooted in the texts of Hindu literature, including the Vedas, in roughly 432,000 years, it is believed that the Avatar Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu, will bring the end time. Hindu cosmology also describes aspects of evolution, astronomy, and astrology, the Hindu

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Large scale structure of the Universe according to one Hindu cosmology.

Hindu mythology
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As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with H

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Rama (right) seated on the shoulders of Hanuman, battles the demon-king Ravana, scene from Ramayana.

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The Creation of the Cosmic Ocean and the Elements, folio from the Shiva Purana, c. 1828.

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Vishnu is known as the preserver aspect of Brahmin. In his four hand he carries at all times, a lotus, a conch shell, a club, and a discus.The ten avatars of Vishnu, (Clockwise, from Left upper corner) Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama, Rama and Narasimha, (in centre) Krishna

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An illustration of the family of Shiva, consisting of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Murugan

God in Hinduism
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In Hindu monotheism, the concept of God varies from one sect to another. Hinduism is not exclusively monotheistic, and has described as spanning a wide range of henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, atheism and nontheism etc. This non-dualism postulates the identity of the Self or Atman with the Whole or Brah

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Bhagavan Krishna with Radharani

Dharma
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Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. There is no single word translation for dharma in western languages, in Buddhism dharma means cosmic law and order, but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for phenomena

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Rituals and rites of passage

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Sannyasa and stages of life

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Above rock inscription is from Indian Emperor Asoka, from 258 BC, and found in Afghanistan. The inscription renders the word Dharma in Sanskrit as Eusebeia in Greek, suggesting Dharma in ancient India meant spiritual maturity, devotion, piety, duty towards and reverence for human community.

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Sikhism

Artha
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Artha is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy. The word artha literally translates as meaning, sense, goal, Artha is also a broader concept in the scriptures of Hinduism. As a concept, it has multiple meanings, all of which means of life. Artha applies to both an individual and a government, in an individuals context, artha inclu

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Career, job

Kama
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Kama means desire, wish, longing in Indian literature. Kama is one of the four goals of life in Hindu traditions. It is considered an essential and healthy goal of life when pursued without sacrificing the other three goals, Dharma, Artha and Moksha. Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha, Kama means “desire, wish or longing”. In c

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Sexual desire

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Aesthetic pleasure from arts, nature

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Kāma is celebrated in many Hindu temples, such as Khajuraho and the Konark Temple (above).

Moksha
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Moksha, also called vimoksha, vimukti and mukti, is a term in Hinduism and Hindu philosophy which refers to various forms of emancipation, liberation, and release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, in its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha refers to freedom from ignorance, self-realiza

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Two Hindu sadhus near Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Usually sadhus live by themselves, on the fringes of society, and spend their days in their pursuit of moksha.

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Gajendra Moksha (pictured) is a symbolic tale in Vaishnavism. The elephant Gajendra enters a lake where a crocodile Huhu clutches his leg and becomes his suffering. Despite his pain, he constantly remembers God Vishnu. God liberates him. Gajendra symbolically represents man, Huhu represents sins and the lake is saṃsāra.

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In myths and temples of India and Bali Indonesia, Sarasvati appears with swan. Sarasvati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning and creative arts, while swan is a symbol of spiritual perfection, liberation and moksa. The symbolism of Sarasvati and the swan is that knowledge and moksa go together.

Maya (illusion)
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Maya, literally illusion or magic, has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In ancient Vedic literature, Māyā literally implies extraordinary power and wisdom, in later Vedic texts and modern literature dedicated to Indian traditions, Māyā connotes a magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not

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"Maya, the mirror of illusions", a painting by the American artist Arthur Bowen Davies (1910).

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Markandeya sees Vishnu as an infant on a fig leaf in the deluge.

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Sikhism

Karma
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Karma means action, work or deed, it also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma, Karma is closely associated with the idea o

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Nepalese temple prayer wheel

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Endless knot

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Lotus symbolically represents karma in many Asian traditions. A blooming lotus flower is one of the few flowers that simultaneously carries seeds inside itself while it blooms. Seed is symbolically seen as cause, the flower effect. Lotus is also considered as a reminder that one can grow, share good karma and remain unstained even in muddy circumstances.

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The motifs in Indian temples often use interconnected shaped and knots symbolizing karma and the link between all lives. Above is an interconnected motif in a Jain temple.

Ethics in religion
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Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. A central aspect of ethics is the life, the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying. Most religions have a component, often derived from purported supernatural revelation or guidance. Some assert that religion is necessary to live ethically,

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Ahimsa - non-violence in action, words and thoughts - is considered the highest ethical value and virtue in Hinduism. Above: non-violence sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reutersward in Malmo, Sweden.

Ahimsa
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Ahimsa means not to injure and compassion and refers to a key virtue in Indian religions. The word is derived from the Sanskrit root hiṃs – to strike, hiṃsā is injury or harm, a-hiṃsā is the opposite of this, i. e. cause no injury, do no harm. Ahimsa is also referred to as nonviolence, and it applies to all living beings—including all animals—in an

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Mahavira, The Torch-bearer of Ahimsa

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Gandhi promoted the principle of Ahimsa very successfully by applying it to all spheres of life, particularly to politics.

Asteya
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Asteya is the Sanskrit term for non-stealing. It is a virtue in Jainism and Hinduism, Asteya is considered as one of five yamas in the Yoga school of Hinduism, and as one of ten forms of temperance in Indian philosophy. The practice of asteya demands that one must not steal, nor have the intent to steal anothers property through action, speech and

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Hinduism

Satya
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Satya is the Sanskrit word for truth. It also refers to a virtue in Indian religions, referring to being truthful in ones thought, speech, in Yoga, satya is one of five yamas, the virtuous restraint from falsehood and distortion of reality in ones expressions and actions. In the Vedas and later sutras, the meaning of the word satya evolves into a c

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Satya is an important concept and virtue in Indian religions. Rigveda, dated to be from the 2nd millennium BC, offers the earliest discussion of Satya. It can be seen, for example, in the fifth and sixth lines, in above Rigveda manuscript image.

Temperance (virtue)
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Temperance is defined as moderation or voluntary self-restraint. It is typically described in terms of what an individual voluntarily refrains from doing, Temperance has been described as a virtue by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology movement. In classical iconography, the vi

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Temperantia, by Luca Giordano

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Representation of temperance (painted wood sculpture, dated 1683, which covers the shrine of the baptismal church Breton Commana in France). Temperance foot backwards here a jug of wine, and presents a pitcher of water

Compassion
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Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help them. Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to physical, spiritual. There is also an aspect of compassion which regards a quantitative dimension, such that individuals compassion is often given a property of depth, vigour, the etymology of compassion

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Compassion personified: a statue at the Epcot center in Florida

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Yoga aims at physical, mental and spiritual purification, with a compassionate mind and spirit being one of its most important goals. Various asanas and mudras are combined with meditation and self-reflection exercises to cultivate compassion.

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Kannon, incarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, 16th century image from Japan

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Avalokiteśvara looking out over the sea of suffering. China, Liao Dynasty.

Tapas (Sanskrit)
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Tapas is a Sanskrit word that means to heat. It also connotes certain spiritual practices in Indian religions, the Tapas practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha. In certain contexts, the term means penance, pious activity, Tapas is based on the root Tap meaning to heat, to give

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Tapasya - Jain meditation in progress.

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Agni, the fire deity, is common at Hindu rituals such as weddings. Agni is considered a great tapasvin, and symbolizes the heat and patience necessary to recreate and incubate life.

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Mahavira doing Tapa

Bhakti yoga
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Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on the cultivation of love and devotion toward God. It has been defined as a practice of devotion toward God, solely motivated by the sincere, loving desire to please God, the origins of Bhakti can be seen in the upanishads, specifically the Shvetashvatara Upanishad. The

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A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating

Jnana yoga
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Jñāna yoga or Jnanamarga refers to the path of knowledge, also known as the path of self realization in Hinduism. It is one of the three classical paths or types of yoga for the liberation of the Atman, the jnanamarga ideas are discussed in ancient and medieval era Hindu scriptures and texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The jnana y

Karma yoga
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Karma yoga, or the Yoga of action is a form of yoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the three paths to realization, karma yoga is the process of achieving perfection in selfless action, Karma Yoga is primarily the practice of selfless service to humanity whereby a spiritual seeker attempts to

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Bronze statue representing the discourse of Krishna and Arjuna, in Kurukshetra

Samkhya
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Samkhya or Sankhya is one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy. It is most related to the Yoga school of Hinduism, Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepts three of six pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include pratyakṣa, anumāṇa and śabda, sometimes described as one of the rationalis

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King Amsuman and the yogic sage Kapila.

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Elements in Samkhya philosophy

Yoga (philosophy)
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Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to the Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga and it is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. The Yoga schools systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all schoo

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A statue of a man in yoga posture (Kashmir, India).

Nyaya
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Nyāya, literally means rules, method or judgment. It is also the name of one of the six schools of Hinduism. This schools most significant contributions to Indian philosophy was systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, Nyaya schools epistemology accepts four out of six Pramanas as reliable means of gaining knowledge – Pratyakṣa,

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Devas are benevolent supernatural beings in the Vedic era literature, with Indra (above) as their leader. The above gilt copper statue of Indra with inlaid semi-precious stones is from 16th-century Nepal.

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Bas-relief of a Deva in Angkor Wat, Cambodia

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Shiva/Rudra has been a major Deva in Hinduism since the Vedic times. Above is a meditating statue of him in the Himalayas with Hindus offering prayers.

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The concept of Hindu Devas migrated to East Asia in the 1st millennium, and was adopted by Japanese Buddhist schools as Jūni-ten. These included Indra (Taishaku-ten), Agni (Ka-ten), Yama (Emma-ten), Vayu (Fu-ten), Brahma (Bon-ten) and others. Above is a painting of the 12 Devas protecting Buddha by Tani Bunchō.

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Saraswati goddess is found in temples of Southeast Asia, islands of Indonesia and Japan. In Japan, she is known as Benzaiten (shown). She is depicted with a musical instrument in Japan, and is a deity of knowledge, music, and everything that flows.

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Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century. After a scribal benediction ("śrīgaṇéśāyanamaḥ;; Aum(3);;"), the first line has the opening words of RV.1.1.1 (agniṃ; iḷe; puraḥ-hitaṃ; yajñasya; devaṃ; ṛtvijaṃ). The Vedic accent is marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.

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The Chandogya Upanishad describes natural phenomena such as a thunderstorm as a form of chant.

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Ahimsa - non-violence in action, words and thoughts - is considered the highest ethical value and virtue in Hinduism. The Chandogya Upanishad makes one of the earliest mentions of this ethical code in section 3.17. Above: non-violence sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reutersward.

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The Chandogya Upanishad in 7th chapter discusses progressive meditation as a means to Self-knowledge.

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Bhagavata Purana manuscripts from 16th- to 19th-century, in Sanskrit (above) and in Bengali language.

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The Bhagavata Purana has been a significant text to Bhakti movement and to the culture of India. Dance and theatre arts such as Kathakali (left), Kuchipudi (middle) and Odissi (right) portray legends from the Purana.

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Rama with Sita on the throne, with their children Lava and Kusha on their laps. Behind the throne, Lakshmana, Bharat and Shatrughna stand. Hanuman bows to Rama before the throne. Valmiki is to the left.

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Scene Ramayana, Gupta art, National Museum, New Delhi.

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Rama seated with Sita, fanned by Lakshmana, while Hanuman pays his respects.